OSC Researcher Training 2018-2019
(Mon 3 Sep 2018 - Thu 13 Jun 2019)
September 2018
| Mon 3 |
What would happen to your research data if your lab exploded, or your laptop was stolen, or your cloud storage account was hacked? How could you prevent data loss in these situations? Managing your data effectively is vital to help you do this. This workshop will introduce the basic principles of Research Data Management (RDM) and how they are relevant throughout the research life cycle. Intended for those who are new to RDM, this course will firstly explain what RDM is, and then go on to cover basic data back-up and storage options, file sharing tools, and strategies for organising your data, as well as providing guidance on managing personal or sensitive data. You will also learn about the range of support services available to you within the University for managing your data. If you already have a basic understanding of RDM then the advanced course is probably more appropriate for you to attend. |
| Wed 5 |
If you already know the basics of Research Data Management (RDM) – for example backing up your work, file storage options - but now need to know more about effective strategies for sharing your data, then this course is for you! This course gives a brief recap on RDM and then covers managing personal and sensitive data in the context of the new GDPR legislation, why it is a Good Thing to share your data, and how to do this most effectively in terms of describing your data, deciding where to share it, and using licences to control how your data is used by others. You will even get to write your own Data Management Plan (DMP): these help you manage your data throughout a project and after it has ended and are increasingly required as part of a grant or fellowship application. You will also learn about the range of support services available to you within the University for managing your data. If you are completely new to the concept of research data management then the beginners course is for you. |
| Tue 11 |
 Researchers and students can now not only make their code and data available for their academic papers, but also enable others to reproduce the results with a single-click. Code Ocean is an easy-to-use executable repository and reproducibility platform that facilitates replication and reuse of research code. This demo will provide an overview of the Code Ocean platform and explore benefits such as:
Lunch will be provided. |
 If you have recently started peer reviewing, or are ready to get involved, this is an unmissable chance to pick up tips and best practices from PLOS, publishers of the world's largest multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal. The Office of Scholarly Communication invites you to join PLOS for an essential introduction to Peer Review. You'll learn...
Stay on after the workshop to chat to PLOS staff and editors and enjoy light refreshments. |
October 2018
| Wed 10 |
An introduction to Open Research (for PhD students in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences)
Finished
These are questions for postgraduate students at all stages of their research. |
| Mon 22 |
PREVENT RESEARCH DISASTERS THROUGH GOOD DATA MANAGEMENT
As a researcher, you will encounter research data in many forms, ranging from measurements, numbers and images to documents and publications. Whether you create, receive or collect this information, you will need to organise it. Managing digital information properly is a complex issue. Doing it correctly from the start could save you a lot of time and hassle when preparing a publication or writing up your thesis. |
| Tue 23 |
 Some learned societies are increasingly dependent on publishing revenues, yet as open access becomes the new normal, researchers and librarians alike are questioning expensive subscription and publishing deals. The Office of Scholarly Communication presents a panel debate for Open Access Week 2018 and Cambridge Festival of Ideas 2018. Join representatives from learned societies in the arts and sciences, including the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Historical Society, in conversation with their members within the University of Cambridge to ask ‘what is a learned society in the 21st century?’ How can the societies sustain their place in the academic landscape and answer the challenges created by open access requirements? Everyone is welcome to attend this free event: visit our booking page. |
| Wed 24 |
If you have recently started peer reviewing, or are ready to get involved, this is an unmissable chance to pick up tips and best practices from PLOS, publishers of the world's largest multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal. The Office of Scholarly Communication invites you to join PLOS for an essential introduction to Peer Review. You'll learn...
Stay on after the workshop to chat to PLOS staff and editors and enjoy light refreshments. |
| Thu 25 |
 Much research claims to benefit communities globally but are research outputs really available to everyone, even if they are made open access? Join us on a world tour to discover what is possible when researchers and governments make their research outputs available openly. What kind of impact do they have outside the academy – and outside the global north? What more can we do to make these outputs useful to innovators and to those researching outside the academic sector? Everyone is welcome to attend this free event: visit our booking page. |
| Fri 26 |
 The OSC is delighted to bring you a lunchtime screening of the documentary that has taken Open Access issues to the big screen. Paywall: The Business of Scholarship is a documentary which focuses on the need for open access to research and science, questions the rationale behind the $25.2 billion a year that flows into for-profit academic publishers, examines the 35-40% profit margin associated with the top academic publisher Elsevier and looks at how that profit margin is often greater than some of the most profitable tech companies like Apple, Facebook and Google. Bring your lunch and enjoy some popcorn! Everyone is welcome to attend this free event: visit our booking page. |
| Mon 29 |
Picking where to publish your research and in what format is an important decision to make. This session looks at the things you need to consider in order to reach your audience effectively, including:
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November 2018
| Tue 6 |
Picking where to publish your research and in what format is an important decision to make. This session looks at the things you need to consider in order to reach your audience effectively, including:
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| Tue 13 |
Confused by copyright? You are not alone! Copyright involves much more than checking how much you are photocopying, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Join the Office of Scholarly Communication as we answer your copyright queries, looking at:
The session will start with a 40 minute presentation, after which the time is open for you to raise questions and discuss issues you have encountered. |
| Thu 22 |
Data Tree workshop: turn over a new leaf in research data management and end user engagement
Finished
 Data Tree is a new online course that has been developed by the Institute for Environmental Analytics. It is designed for PhD students and early career researchers with all you need to know for research data management, along with ways to engage and share data with business, policymakers, media and the wider public. In this interactive workshop, course Director Vicky Lucas will introduce Data Tree. This will be an opportunity to find out about the leading experts who have contributed to the course, its interactive quizzes, videos and real-world examples, and to delve into some of the topics covered. Attendees of the hour-long session will leave fully prepared to use this excellent free resource to build on their data management skills, solve data handling problems and communicate the results of the research to non-academic audiences. Read more information about Data Tree |
| Thu 29 |
You've published your research...now what should you do with it? This session explores the whys and hows of sharing research - the options, the benefits and the logistics:
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January 2019
| Thu 17 |
An introduction to Open Research (for PhD students in Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences)
Finished
These are questions for postgraduate students at all stages of their research. Research in the 21st century is changing at a rapid pace and it can be hard to keep up with this dynamic and fast-paced environment. There are more pressures on researchers than ever before including mandates around Open Access and data sharing as well as extra pressure to boost citations to secure the next role. This Introduction to Open Research will help you navigate this complex minefield including the benefits of Open Access, how to use the University’s repository to publish research and boost your citations and how to comply with the new regulations. |
| Thu 24 |
PREVENT RESEARCH DISASTERS THROUGH GOOD DATA MANAGEMENT
As a researcher, you will encounter research data in many forms, ranging from measurements, numbers and images to documents and publications. Whether you create, receive or collect this information, you will need to organise it. Managing digital information properly is a complex issue. Doing it correctly from the start could save you a lot of time and hassle when preparing a publication or writing up your thesis. |
| Thu 31 |
Picking where to publish your research and in what format is an important decision to make. This session looks at the things you need to consider in order to reach your audience effectively, including:
|
February 2019
| Thu 14 |
Picking where to publish your research and in what format is an important decision to make. This session looks at the things you need to consider in order to reach your audience effectively, including:
|
| Thu 21 |
Confused by copyright? You are not alone! Copyright involves much more than checking how much you are photocopying, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Join the Office of Scholarly Communication as we answer your copyright queries, looking at:
The session will start with a 40 minute presentation, after which the time is open for you to raise questions and discuss issues you have encountered. |
March 2019
| Thu 14 |
You've published your research...now what should you do with it? This session explores the whys and hows of sharing research - the options, the benefits and the logistics:
|
| Mon 25 |
 FAIR data are those that are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. Sounds simple enough, but what do each of these terms mean in a practical sense and how can you tell if your own research data is FAIR? The Research Data Team at the Office of Scholarly Communication join forces with FOSTER Open Science to offer a practical workshop to help you get to grips with the key principles and consider how you can start to make your own data FAIRer. Once you have completed How FAIR is your research data? An online course (for researchers and postgraduate students in all disciplines) we invite you to attend this workshop session with the Research Data Team from the Office of Scholarly Communication to discuss your experiences in assessing the FAIRness of your data, including any problems you encountered. You are welcome to bring examples of your data to this session to further develop your skills, or try your hand at FAIRifying more example datasets from Apollo. |
April 2019
| Thu 4 |
Advertised on behalf of ReproducibiliTea, the Open Science Journal Club in the Department of Psychology The Open Science Journal Club invites anyone interested in Open Research to join this lunchtime session, where Dav Clark will introduce Gigantum, a free open source tool designed to streamline reproducible and collaborative data science. Gigantum aims to bring together complex tools, workflows and community approaches that enable exciting research collaborations and also enable others to evaluate and build on your work. The session will introduce the Gigantum Client, an MIT licensed web application that runs locally, simplifying and automating tools like Docker, Git, and launching environments like JupyterLab. Dav will also describe paid services hosted by Gigantum that enable single-click publication and collaboration from the Client. You will learn about versioning and collaboration features, how to easily move work between local resources and the cloud, as well as new approaches to creating and managing scientific datasets. There will also be the chance to go under the hood to show how sophisticated users (e.g., Research Software Engineers, Data Librarians, etc.) can create customized data science environments that are easy to distribute, and are accessible to users with diverse skill sets. All welcome - if you aren't a member of the Department of Psychology, please meet at the Department Reception by 12.55 and Ben Farrar will show you to the Nick Macintosh Seminar Room (a second escort will check at 1pm for latecomers!). This session will include a hands-on demo, so please bring your laptops. You may bring your lunch if you wish, and Dav is happy to join participants for lunch afterwards. |
| Fri 26 |
Lunch and Learn: ASAPbio presents a lunchtime discussion on preprints and transparent publishing
Finished
The Office of Scholarly Communication invites you to join Naomi Penfold of ASAPbio for an hour of relaxed, small group discussions on how and why publishing is changing to become more transparent, and what this means for you. Bring your lunch and join a 'discussion table' to explore questions such as...
ASAPbio is a scientist-driven non-profit ensuring the voices of science and the scientist are represented in innovation to improve transparency in life science communication. This event is open to all, although will be of particular relevance to those in biomedical and life sciences. |
| Tue 30 |
These are questions for postgraduate students at all stages of their research. Research in the 21st century is changing at a rapid pace and it can be hard to keep up with this dynamic and fast-paced environment. There are more pressures on researchers than ever before, including mandates around Open Access and data sharing as well as extra pressure to boost citations to secure the next role. The University of Cambridge has recently committed to promoting and supporting Open Research, and understanding the basics of 'what it is' is now essential for researchers. This introductory session will help you navigate this complex landscape including the benefits of Open Access, how to use the University’s repository to publish research and boost your citations, and how to comply with the new regulations. |